Hugo Richard

Hugo Richard, also called Richard Hugo, is an Earthling Warrior and one of the longstanding members of Carpe Diem and Valhalla. A direct, pleasure-seeking fighter who distrusts complicated responsibility, he becomes one of Seol Jihu's earliest companions and remains on the frontline through the final war.

Biography

A Red Mark and a place in Carpe Diem

Before Paradise, Hugo is exhausted by repetitive daily life and accepts a recruiter's invitation because he wants an unfamiliar world. He passes the Tutorial and Neutral Zone with an above-average result, then knowingly signs a Red Mark slave contract offered outside. He does not mistake the contract for freedom; he simply values the escape enough to accept its danger. The choice explains both his quick adaptation to Paradise and the vulnerability through which another organization initially controls him. (Chapter 229)

By the time Seol encounters him near Haramark, Hugo is traveling with Alex. His large build and blunt reactions make him initially intimidating, but he listens when Alex asks him to defer to an Archer's judgment. He later reunites with Seol as part of Dylan Edward's Carpe Diem contingent on Samuel's Forest of Denial expedition. Hugo refuses to touch the suspicious coffin despite pressure from the group, an instinctive boundary that helps distinguish his simplicity from mindless obedience. (Chapters 23, 26, and 29)

After the expedition collapses, Hugo waits at the city gate with Dylan and Chung Chohong rather than leaving Seol to return alone. Their shared survival turns an incidental meeting into a durable friendship. Hugo resumes ordinary Carpe Diem life—missions, cigarettes, banter, and shared rewards—while becoming part of the small team through which Seol learns how established Earthlings operate in Paradise. (Chapters 32–33)

Banquet, captivity, and training

Hugo takes part in the Banquet with Carpe Diem and carries a concealed battle-ax into its stages. He is later trapped during the Delphinion laboratory operation, remaining behind with others who search until the allotted time is nearly exhausted. Seol's group rescues him and the surviving captives, reinforcing the reciprocal obligation among members who repeatedly refuse to abandon one another. Hugo's role in these arcs is rarely command, but his presence supplies the frontline strength on which Carpe Diem's smaller teams depend. (Chapters 45 and 70)

Under Jang Maldong, Hugo endures an extended training period without complaint. The regimen develops the stamina and discipline behind his rough fighting style, even though his everyday conduct remains unserious. When Haramark issues an emergency draft for the valley war, Hugo's status at Level 4 or higher obliges him to participate. He fights as part of the Carpe Diem circle that Ian names among Seol's friends during the battle's final crisis and survives the campaign that kills Ian. (Chapters 59, 84, and 90)

Hugo visits Seol during the latter's long recovery and returns to the team's noisy domestic rhythm afterward. His enormous appetite, enthusiasm for liquor, smoking, and gullibility toward advertised equipment make him a recurring source of comedy. These habits do not erase the continuity of his support: he remains present after the celebrated victory has become convalescence, grief, and ordinary work. (Chapters 94, 107, and 115)

From Haramark to Valhalla

Hugo relocates from Haramark when Carpe Diem establishes a new organization in Eva. He contributes money to the undertaking, but refuses Seol's expectation that an old member should lead one of the new teams. Hugo does not pretend to possess administrative gifts and prefers a straightforward Warrior's place under someone else's command. That refusal limits his institutional authority while keeping him in the role where he is most dependable. (Chapters 124, 128, and 133)

Within Valhalla, Hugo helps evaluate newer Warriors through the standards Jang taught him. He and Chohong praise a recruit who withstands training without complaint and regard a simple personality as an advantage for a Warrior. Hugo also remains close enough to Seol to challenge his suspicious arrangements with Seo Yuhui, though his accusations are more teasing intuition than evidence. The new organization changes his scale of operation without turning him into a strategist or bureaucrat. (Chapters 137–138)

Tigol Fortress and coalition warfare

Before the Tigol expedition, Hugo looks at the operational map and says it resembles a monster waiting with its mouth open, specifically comparing it to the Parasite Queen. The observation is a hunch from the map, not supernatural foresight, but it captures the danger of entering the enemy formation. At Tigol he attacks Twisted Kindness and is thrown back before he can land a blow, then later combines his halberd strike with Chohong's against Sung Shihyun. The battles demonstrate courage and coordination while preserving the gap between Hugo and the enemy's highest ranks. (Chapters 143, 146, and 152)

The victory gives Valhalla breathing room and Hugo a period of social life rather than institutional advancement. He travels to Hawaii with the group, dresses in a floral shirt and tennis shorts, drives them to their hotel, and joins the drinking and joking that bind members outside battle. These scenes matter to his arc because Paradise was originally an escape from monotony; Valhalla turns that escape into a community instead of another controlling contract. (Chapters 159, 167, and 171)

The Imperial Oath disaster

By the Imperial Oath crisis, Hugo is formally identified as a Level 5 Barbarian Champion. He remains behind the central infiltration force but confronts the consequences when Seol's expedition disappears and Paradise begins collapsing. Hugo admits when he cannot follow every strategic detail, yet understands that the situation is catastrophic and prepares to fight rather than using confusion as an excuse to withdraw. (Chapters 175, 180, and 183)

When Seol's body is returned, Hugo stops Chohong from rushing toward it. He is visibly overwhelmed, but restrains himself long enough to tell her that Seol is finally present. This rare seriousness shows the emotional cost beneath his usual simplicity: he cannot solve the loss, but he can keep another grieving friend from breaking the moment apart. He then joins the battered Valhalla members who fight through the subsequent defense until Seol is restored. (Chapters 188 and 190)

Promotion, death, and return

Seol's Divine Wish includes Hugo among the allies advanced before the final campaign. Hugo receives the title Mighty Barbarian Warrior and later completes the Path of the Soul's summit training, converting his longstanding endurance into a higher combat rank. The corpus does not provide a numbered level or full skill list for the new title, so the promotion establishes growth without supporting invented powers. (Chapter 194)

In the final war, Hugo charges ahead with his halberd, jumps into the fallen Parasites, and clears enemies through continuous sweeping attacks. He is one of seven Valhalla members killed during the campaign. The Seven Sins resurrect those who died in the final war, and Hugo is already drinking at the victory celebration when the survivors return. His death and immediate restoration preserve the cost of his frontline role while allowing him to share the peace he helped win. (Chapters 197 and 202)

Hugo remains in Eva afterward, spending time at Seol's restaurant and treating their history as a friendship formed through repeated life-and-death crises. The life he chose to escape boredom becomes stable without becoming empty: he has comrades, games, meals, and access to both worlds. His final self-introduction emphasizes neither title nor achievement, but the fact that he and Seol have been best friends since the beginning. (Chapters 205, 242, and 253)

Appearance and personality

Hugo is a tall, heavily built Black man, large enough that one later description compares him to a professional basketball player. He commonly wears a broad grin, and his imposing size can make an ordinary glare look threatening. On Earth in Hawaii, his blue floral shirt and white tennis shorts fit the relaxed, conspicuous style he brings to social occasions. (Chapters 23, 159, 175, and 204)

He is blunt, impulsive, and proud of being uncomplicated. Hugo readily admits that planning and leadership do not suit him, values food, liquor, cigarettes, women, and physical enjoyment, and often becomes the subject or cause of coarse jokes. His simplicity also has constructive forms: he states objections directly, does not disguise his limitations, adapts quickly, and tolerates Jang's severe training without elaborate complaint. (Chapters 29, 33, 59, 107, 133, 137, and 171)

Hugo's loyalty is clearest when comedy falls away. He waits for Seol after the Forest of Denial, visits him during recovery, moves with Carpe Diem to Eva, contains Chohong's grief when Seol dies, and repeatedly returns to frontline combat despite knowing he may be among the first killed. His courage is not sophisticated strategy, and his map intuition should not be mistaken for prophecy; it is the practical steadiness of a man who knows which people he intends to stand beside. (Chapters 32, 94, 124, 143, 183, and 188–202)

Abilities and class

Hugo follows the Warrior path and reaches Level 5 Barbarian Champion by the Imperial Oath period. He fights at close range with heavy weapons, first carrying a battle-ax and later favoring a halberd. His style uses strength, momentum, and broad sweeping attacks to break into groups of enemies. Against ordinary Parasites he can clear space rapidly, but high-ranking opponents such as Twisted Kindness and Sung Shihyun can block or repel him. (Chapters 70, 146, 152, 175, and 197)

His defining physical asset is endurance. Hugo survives Jang Maldong's training, continues fighting while heavily wounded, rises after being knocked down, and later reaches the summit during renewed Path of the Soul training. This durability supports the Barbarian progression, but it is not invulnerability: he is captured at Delphinion, injured in major battles, and killed in the final war. Recovery, rescue, and resurrection all come from allies or divine systems rather than a demonstrated personal regeneration skill. (Chapters 45, 59, 190, 194, and 202)

A Divine Wish advances him from Barbarian Champion to Mighty Barbarian Warrior. The text records the title and his successful training but does not enumerate its Authorities, abilities, costs, or exact numerical level. His later halberd charge is consistent with an improved frontline Warrior, yet there is no basis for assigning elemental magic, command powers, or supernatural prediction to the class. (Chapters 194 and 197)

Power progression

Relationships

• Seol Jihu: Hugo meets Seol on the road to Haramark, reunites with him in the Forest of Denial party, and becomes one of his oldest surviving teammates. Seol helps rescue him, builds Valhalla with him, and includes him in the Divine Wish promotions; Hugo visits, fights for, grieves, and ultimately describes Seol as a best friend forged through repeated crises. (Chapters 23–45, 94, 124–138, 188–205, and 253)
• Chung Chohong: Chohong and Hugo form Carpe Diem's longstanding Warrior pair. They train, relocate, drink, and attack together, and both prefer frontline work to management. Hugo's restraint of Chohong beside Seol's body is one of the clearest examples of their bond beneath their usual bickering. (Chapters 26–33, 59, 124–152, 167, and 188)
• Dylan Edward: Dylan leads the Carpe Diem contingent with which Hugo joins the Forest expedition. Hugo serves as the rear Warrior beside Dylan's Archer role, waits with him for Seol after the mission, and remains part of the team whose practical structure Dylan established. (Chapters 26–33)
• Jang Maldong: Jang subjects Hugo to foundational physical training and later remains the standard through which Valhalla judges Warriors. Hugo's willingness to endure the regimen without complaint earns respect and prepares him for the higher-rank battles in which raw enthusiasm alone would not suffice. (Chapters 59, 137, and 194)
• Phi Sora: Phi Sora becomes another of Valhalla's frontline Warriors. She and Hugo share the organization's training, mobilization, and final campaign, and both receive advancement through Seol's Divine Wish before fighting in the decisive war. (Chapters 124–133, 175–194, and 202)

Items

• Battle-ax: Hugo carries a battle-ax into the Banquet, concealing the large weapon in an undignified but effective manner. The corpus gives it no unique name or supernatural property. (Chapter 70)
• Halberd: Hugo later uses a halberd as his principal battlefield weapon. Its reach and broad arc suit his charging style, but stronger opponents can still block the strikes or knock him away before he connects. (Chapters 152, 190, and 197)